Miriam Makeba

Apartheid is a political policy that was used from 1948 to 1994 in South Africa. It was a racial segregation and discrimination that was enforced by the white minority government. Apartheid was a slogan that was used in the National party in the early 1940's. The policy was that separation that would divide South Africans into three racial groups. The groups are the Bantu which is black Africans, coloured or white people. Over time they would another group of people which was the Asians that included Indians and Pakistanis. In 1950 laws were passed and Group Areas Acts were passed that would assign races to different residential and business sections in urban areas. The Land Act was passed in 1954 and 1955 it would restrict were the non white people would be able to live. The new law would affect the black Africans even more by how much land they would be able to own. The white people controlled over 80 percent of South African. The groups were limited on how much contact they could have with the other groups. It even went as far to enforce segregation on education and public facilities. It created race specific jobs and would like non white participation in the government. In the early 1990 they began to break apart the apartheid system. In 1994 the constitution was rewritten and they were able to hold new elections for the first time in history. Nelson Mandela's was the first elected South African black president.

Miriam Makeba Suffered a heart attack, during a protest concert, after singing her hit song “Pata Pata.” She was rushed to the Pineta Grande clinic, where she was unable to be resuscitated. She died at the clinic on November 9, 2008. Even today she is remembered as a fighter, and will forever hold the nick name Mama Africa.

Miriam Makeba or also known as “Mama Africa” singer and activist she as a big part of the fight against apartheid. In 1959 she was given the chance, by Lionel Rogosin, to be the star of a anti-apartheid documentary “Come Back Africa”. Anti-apartheid campaigns was part of Miriam life. She made a song for anti-apartheid that song is “pata pata” the song talked about people who were under the power of apartheid. But because of her anti-apartheid campaign here passport and citizenship in South Africa was revoked by the South African government. she brought African music to a global audience in the 1960’s and her music is still playing even today. But sadly Miriam Makeba had a heart attack after a concert; the medics weren’t able to revive her. Miriam Makeba died fighting with justice against apartheid.

Music

Miriam Makeba is a singer and human rights campaigner. She was the first vocalist to put African music onto the international map in the 1960’s. She started to sing professionally in the 1950’s,with the Cuban brothers. She joined the female vocal group. Miriam Makeba sang tradisjonell folkemusikk and jazz music. In 1959 Miriam Makeba had the lead of the musical King Kong. It’s about a boxer who kills his sweetheart and later dies in prison. The musical was published as a jazz opera. It was a huge success in South Africa. The musical was often performed in universities,to avoid the racist apartheid. Miriam Makeba had several hits on the 1960’s. Her most known song was “Pata Pata” “The Clique song” and the Tanzanian “Malaika”, remaining an active opponent of the apartheid regime in her own country.

Miriam Makeba is african music’s first and foremost world star. She played her early songs and blended different styles long before anyone even began to talk about “world music”. Her disk production is spread across many companies all over the world, so far and wide that it’s difficult to get a panoramic view of it. No collection of African music should be without one or more of Miriam Makeba's recordings.

Miriam “Mama Africa” Makeba, born Zenzile Miriam Makeba, was born in Johannesburg in 1932. Her mother was a traditional herbal-healer, also named Swazi Sangoma. Miriam’s father died when she was only six years old. Miriam’s mother was arrested for selling/making illegal African beer, named Umquombothi, when she was eighteen days old, and preceded her first six months of life in jail with the accompaniment of her mother.

As a child Miriam sang in a choir at her Primary school, that she attended for eight years of her life. However, her professional career didn’t start until the fifties, when she was in her twenties. Her first professional job singing was with the Manhattan Brothers, where she was featured on a poster, for her first time. After leaving the Manhattan Brothers, she joined an all-girls group named the Skylarks. In 1956, she released her first single called Pata Pata. Although very successful she earned very little money and was determined to leave home.

Her first major break came in 1959, when she appeared in Come Back, Africa. The cameo made such an impression that she was awarded a visa to attend the premiere in Italy, she won an award. She also was the main female character in a Broadway production of King Kong, making her United States debut on the Steve Allen Show on November 1, 1959.

The Albums she recorded in her life were:

1. The Many Voices of Miriam Makeba(1960)
2. Miriam Makeba(1960)
3. The World of Miriam Makeba(1963)
4. The Voice of Africa(1964)
5. Makeba Sings!(1965)
6. An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba(1965)
7. The Magic of Makeba(1965)
8. The Magnificent Miriam Makeba(1966)
9. All About Miriam(1966)
10. Pata Pata(1967)
11. Miriam Makeba In Concert(1967)
12. Makeba!(1968)
13. Live In Tokyo(1968)
14. Keep Me In Mind(1970)
15. A Promise(1974)
16. Live in Conakry:Appel a l`Afrique(1974)
17. Miriam Makeba and Bongi(1975)
18. Enregistrement Public au Theatre des Champs-Elys`ees(1977)
19. Country Girl(1978)
20. Comme Une Symphonie D`Amour(1979)
21. Sangoma(1988)
22. Welela(1989)
23. Eyes On Tomorrow(1991)
24. Sing Me a Song(1993)
25. Homeland(2000)
26. Live at Berns Salonger, Stockholm, Sweden(2003)
27. Reflecting(2004)
28. Makeba Forever(2006)

The actress roles that she acted in were:

1. Come Back Africa(1960)
2. LBJ(1968)
3. Festival Panafrican d’Alger(19690
4. Amok(1982)
5. Olivia Comes Out of The Closet, season 8, episode 10 The Cosby Show(1991)
6. Sarafina!(1992)
7. When We Were Kings(1996)
8. Have You Seen Drum Recently?(1998)
9. Otto: Der Katastrofenfilm(2000)
10. Amandala!: A Revelution in Four-Part Harmony(2002)
11. Veronica Mars(TV Series)(2004)
12. Transamerica(2005)
13. Bobby(2006)
14. Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten(2007) 15. Soul Power(2008)